Conference interpreting is a relatively young
profession. Born at the dawn of the 20th
century, it hastened the end of the era when
diplomatic relations were dominated by a single
language, and it played a critical role in the
birth of a new multilingual model of diplomacy
that continues to this day. In this seminal
work on the genesis of conference interpreting,
Jesús Baigorri-Jalón provides the profession
with a pedigree based on painstaking research
and supported by first-hand accounts as well as
copious references to original documentation.
The author traces the profession’s roots back
to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, through
its development at the League of Nations and
the International Labor Organization, its use
by the Allied and Axis powers as they decided
the fate of nations in the years prior to and
during World War II, and finally its debut on
the world stage in 1945, at the Nuremberg
Trials. Available for the first time in
English, this account will be of interest not
only to scholars and students of interpreting
but also to any reader interested in the
linguistic, social, diplomatic, and political
history of the 20th century.